Chinese park among world's best national parks

A park in China made the list of the 30 best national parks in the world. The list was compiled by Colorado travel writer Anne Dirkse. The article was originally published on CNN in 2014, but CNN recycled it for Earth Day 2016.

The lone Chinese park on the list is Zhangjiajie Forest National Park in southcentral China's Hunan Province. The park is famous for its pillar-like rock formation that were formed by erosion.

Spread over 50 square miles, some of the rock formations are topped by trees; some 500 species of trees can be found in the park, as well as a variety of wildlife, including monkeys and birds.

The park started out as a tree farm in 1958 and became a national park in 1982.  It is on the list of UNESCO's World Geoparks.